Crying Freedom
by CarenM
Summary: This is my theroy on what happened to Alice. I've added some of my own characters to this. Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight, I'm just a fan xP
1. Begin

Name: Mary Alice Brandon

Y.O.B: 1901

Height: 4'10

Weight: 103 lbs

Hair Colour: Deep brown

Eyes: Brown

Reason Of Incarceration: Claims to have 'Premonitions'

I could read no more. My father's slinky handwriting littered the paperwork. I slid the notes back into the envelope. This was the day I will replay for the rest of my life. They day I was put into an asylum for no reason.

Black walls surrounded me. Black walls for the insane. Black walls not meant for me. I ran my hands through my short, pointy, convict crop. My solitary state bothered me. It's been four months since I was incarcerated, and insanity loomed in the blackness. I looked under my bed for the suitcase. I pilfered through it, finding a small black box it still had the note on it, the note read:

_Alice,  
I hope Mother's music box helps you though the tough times  
Love, Cynthia_

I smiled. Cynthia was the only one who called me what I preferred. I opened it and a tinkling waltz filled the room. I hummed and danced along. I missed my sister, my home, my only friend, and the life I once knew. A sharp knock startled me. I immediately silenced the music box and stuffed it under my bed. The guard stormed into the room. I stopped dead in my tracks.

"Mary, hand me over that possession, you know you can't have them." The guard boomed. I shuddered.  
"No." I whispered. I wasn't going to give it up that easily.  
"Please, Miss Brandon." He said, anger welling in his voice. I shook my head.  
"Hand over the music box this instant, Miss Brandon!" he shouted. I winced and dug up the box. Handing over the box with, tears were streaming from my eyes. The guard snatched it up and slammed his hand over my head. I let out a scream of agony. The guard left. I gathered myself and pressed my ear to the door.  
"...Found it in cell 79... the crazy one... asked for it nicely... gave it up willingly..."  
What a lie, I thought. I suddenly felt someone new was coming. Then, shrill screeches filled the hallway. I gathered myself up off the floor and peered through the tiny square window and saw a kicking, flailing, adolescent girl being forced into her cell by five guards. I marveled over the lanky teenager's strength.Her head turned and, for a moment, our eyes locked in a moment of understanding and hope. But then she was gone, the key turning in the lock of the girls cell. Her shrill cries filled the building about 20 minutes. The screaming and wailing soon ended, and sobs took over the girl. I crept up to the nearest wall and peeked through a large crack in the wall.

"I'm not insane!" The girl shrieked. I gasped.  
"Hey, you. What's your name?" I whispered through the crack. She cried even harder.  
"Stop, dear, I'm not here to judge you." I soothed. She sniffed. The girl calmed herself enough to tell me her name.  
"Joy, Joy Alexandra Gordon." She said in a shaky voice.  
"I'm Mary Alice Brandon, but you can call me Alice." I said.  
"Why are you here, Alice?"  
"I get premonitions constantly. I predicted the death of my grandmother, and they admitted me here. What about yourself?"  
"When I get angry, I sometimes bite people, and I end up killing them. I bit my baby sister and killed her."  
"Oh, I'm sorry, Joy..."  
"Not it's fine, I was never the favorite anyways."  
"Neither was I." I smiled. She grinned a small, crooked grin. At least someone else understands me here.


	2. Visitors

The night came fast while I was talking to Joy. We said goodbye to each other when the guards came down the hall with their clubs and chains. I settled into my lumpy mattress and covered myself with the lice infested blanket. I tried to sleep, ignoring the crawling blanket that covered me and the moaning coming from a few cells down.  
Just then, a hazy scene began to play in my mind. I saw an average looking man, with a horrifying smile on his face. He was pale as a dead body, and kept saying he wanted me, like I was food or something. He chased me down the row of cells until I tripped. He bit sharply into my bicep. The man then wiped his mouth and walked away. I shook myself from my trance and checked my arms. I sighed with relief that I was unscathed. Loud banging from my door startled me.

"Go away!" I shouted. The door opened. I shuddered. A chilled hand touched my exposed shoulder. I looked up at the guard. It was Harris, one of the sympathetic guards.  
"Miss Brandon, I have your music box. I took it from Cecil. I'm sorry what happened to you."  
"It's okay, Harris, that had nothing to do with you. I was resisting him. Take it back to Cecil. He'll beat me down if he finds it here. Please take it back Harris."  
"No, take it. You need it." Harris said, smiling through the darkness. I sighed.  
"Fine, put it under my bed, Harris." I moaned. He put the box under my bed and left the room. I got myself comfortable again and tried to sleep.

"Alice, Are you awake?" Joy asked timidly through the crack.  
"Yes, Joy, I'm here. What is it?" I answered  
"I heard you talking to Harris last night. I think he likes you."  
"Don't be so childish, Joy, he was just returning my music box."  
"Would he be returning that if he wasn't sweet on you?" she said. I thought for a brief moment.  
"Well, I guess not..."  
"See, Harris is sweet on you."  
"Erm..." a sharp banging stopped my response.  
"Miss Brandon...you have a visitor." The guard said. I sigh and stood up. I walked towards the door. The guard unlocked my door and opened it. I held out my wrists and he shackled them. The guard firmly took my arm and led me down the corridor to the waiting area. There I saw a pair of large brown eyes stare into mine. Tears threatened to spill as I tried to choke out her name.  
"Cynthia," I whispered. My sister stood up and gathered me into a tight embrace.  
"Alice... I know I don't have much time, but I've been trying to come see you, but mother and father won't allow me. They believe that you're dead. You're dead to them, Alice. I just couldn't go on thinking that my darling sister was gone forever! Home's not the same without your smile." Cynthia said. Tears poured from my eyes.  
"I've missed you so much. This place is awful. I wish you could take me with you when you leave. I miss home so much. I found your gift. Please come back as soon as you can, and take Beth with you next time. Tell her I miss her..."  
"Time's up, Miss Brandon, I need to take you back to your cell."  
"... I love you, Cynthia." I said. I kissed my sister. Cynthia's face twisted in pain.  
"I love you, too A-" her goodbye was cut of by the slamming of the steel door behind me.


	3. Harris' Secret

When I returned to my cell after my visitation, I saw a note sitting on my bed. I picked it up. It read:

Miss Brandon,

I need to talk to you tonight. I'll come to your cell at nightfall, after the guards. This is urgent.

Regards,

Harris N. Montgomery

I sighed. Now I knew that Joy was right. I crept up to the crack in the wall.

"Joy? Are you there?" I whispered.

"Yes, Alice. What is it?"

"I have a note from Harris. He says he wants to see me tonight. He says it's urgent. What should I do?"

"I don't know, but just relax. If he's sneaking into you cell at night, it must be important." Joy said. I smiled.

"Okay, thanks Joy. You're a great friend." I said. I moved myself from the crack and sat on my bed. I inhaled sharply and began to think of what the urgency was about.

I closed my eyes for a brief moment, and then a fuzzy scenario filled my mind. The same average man was chasing me again down the hallway. But this time, Harris threw himself in front of him, and a fight broke out. This time I managed to get away just in time to save myself. The fuzzy scene left my mind. I sat gasping for air on my bed. The vision confused me. Was I supposed to die, or live?

Night fell soon. I heard Harris come into my cell. I pulled my weak body into and upright position. Harris sat on the edge of my bed.

"Miss Brandon. I need to tell you something about myself that many people don't know." Harris started. He inhaled slowly.

" I don't really know how to put this, but I'm not human. I'm far from it. I'm a nightwalker. A leech. A bloodsucker. A vampire. I'm not 22 like I say I am. I should be 95 right now. But don't be scared, dear, I'll never hurt you." Harris explained, taking my hands. How can he say that? Is that supposed to clear anything up? I did the only thing I could at that moment. I freed my hands from Harris' grip and slapped him sharply across the right side of his face. He looked at me in shock.

"I'm telling you the truth, Alice. I would never lie to you."

" I don't believe you." I whispered angrily.

"I guess I just need to give you proof." Harris said. He took my freed hand and placed it on his chest. My body began to shake and my eyes went wide. I only felt his breathing.

"There is no blood in my veins. My heart hasn't beat in over 70 years. Do you believe me now, Alice?" he said.

"Impossible…" I said, still in shock.

"Alice, dear, I need you to listen to me. There is a vampire out there who is not like me. He wants to hurt you. His name is James, and he will be here very soon. I need to get you out of here as soon as I can. I'll come back here tomorrow night with your clothes and other belongings." he finished. I pulled him into a hug.

"I'm so scared, Harris, I've been seeing someone in my visions who wants to kill me." I said, tears beginning to fall. Harris placed a kiss on my cheek. We pulled apart.

" I won't let him hurt you. I prom-" he was cut off but shouting coming from outside my cell. Guards were running, and shots were fired. Then screams filled the air, and pounding on my door startled the both or us.


	4. James l Estella

The pounding ended with a blood-curdling shriek

The pounding ended with a blood-curdling shriek. The pounding started again and was even harder this time. The door began to fall off the hinges. I huddled into Harris' chest. A loud slam filled the room and a growl made me whimper.

"Let her go, boy. She's mine!" the man snarled at Harris.

"No, James! I won't let you!" Harris retorted. Just as he said that, he scooped be up and blasted through my barred window. We fell for what looked like 20 feet, until Harris landed perfectly on his own feet. Harris barley paused before he began to run to the back of the asylum. We reached to back in record time. He placed me down on my feet. He handed me a sheet of desk stationary.

"Alice, I need you to go to this group home. Ask for Estella. Tell her that Harris sent you. She will clean you up." Harris explained. I stuffed the paper into my dress pocket. Cleaned up? I thought.

"Dear, this is very hard for me to ask you, but I need to change you into a vampire. It's the only way to save you." Harris said.

"What…? Harris? Why can't I run away?" I asked timidly.

"We have no time, he will find you, Alice dear. Please, I can't stand to see you die the way so many have. Please!" Harris pleaded. I thought hard.

"Yes, Harris." I said quietly. He gathered me into a hug. Before I knew it, His cold lips were on mine. He pulled away and stroked my cheek.

"I love you." He whispered. Tears formed in my eyes. I hugged him.

"Thank you," I responded. Sadness filled his eyes as he brought his lips to my neck. His cool breath tickled my neck. He bit gently into my jugular vein. Pain filled my body as he bit slightly harder. Tears poured from my eyes. We stood there until we were interrupted by the man who broke down my cell door.

"Ah, Harris got to you before me." He said. Harris released me. I fell like Raggedy Ann to the floor. I dragged myself to a safe hiding spot. I could barely make out what they were saying, but I saw then lounge at each other. I suddenly felt a scorching burn rip throughout my body. I screamed in fearful agony as the fiery pain blasted thought my body. I passed out cold, for the pain was too much for me to bear.

A loathsome burn awakened me. I felt slightly disoriented. I looked down at piece of a broken mirror. I was somehow beautiful, with horrific ruby eyes. I dragged my body from my hiding place. Then the most tantalizing scent washed over me. I turned around, and Cecil, was standing 10 feet away, smoking a cigarette. The burn ravaged my senses and a new instinct to kill Cecil filled my soul. An unexpected snarl ripped from my throat.

" Miss Brandon! What are you doing here? Get back to your cell immediately!" Cecil shouted. I ignored him; I just kept walking towards my prey.

" Miss Brandon! I'm warning you!" He continued. His yelling didn't faze me one bit. If he calls my name one more time, I swear... I thought.

"Miss Brandon..." That did it. I stopped in my tracks. I inhaled hard. I looked him straight in the eyes.

"Don't you Miss Brandon me," I whispered loudly. With my soul in flames, I charged at him, tackling him to the ground. I ripped at his throat, sucking the red blood straight from the veins. His blood tasted better than any morsel of food I have ever had in my lifetime. I kept drinking until the harsh ache in my throat subsided. I felt relief spread throughout my body. I searched his body for money, but found a box of matches and a flask of bourbon. Then I got and idea. I emptied the flask on his body and struck a match. I dropped the match onto the bourbon. His body lit up like a wildfire. I heard shouting coming from the other end of the alleyway. I ran away from the mob of guards to an abandoned store. I felt a slight weight in my pocket. I pulled out a sheet of stationary. The note read:

_Darling, _

_If you have received this, then I have saved you. Please go to the Woman's House on Main Street, you can't miss it._

_I love you. I hope you are safe._

_Harris Nelson Montgomery, Mississippi State Reformatory_

I gasped as the image of Harris clouded my mind. Empty sobs heaved from my body. After I calmed myself, I saw a clear vision of a large limestone house. I looked across the street and saw a sign for Main Street. I ran down the road, and the limestone house materialized from the night murk. I cautiously walked up the concrete steps, timidly knocking on the door. A skinny, Hispanic looking girl in a lilac nightgown answered.

"Who are you?" She asked in a smug tone, a Spanish accent clouding her words.

"I was told to come here...I'm Alice." I said. She rolled her eyes.

"Come in.," she replied. She opened the door. I shuffled in. The house was quite grand for a woman's home.

"Thank you... um..."

"Kristina. Wait here." She said. She shouted for a woman named Estella. The name seemed vaguely familiar. A tall, matronly, woman with her blonde hair pulled into a tight bun, came sauntering down the dominant stairwell. A hoard of young woman followed her. She gasped when she saw me.

"Marianne, Kristina! Take her upstairs! You other girls, scram!" she shouted in a stern Russian accent.

"Hello, darling what's your name?" Estella asked as Marianne and Kristina guided me up the stairs.

"I'm a Alice, Harris Montgomery sent me..."

"Ahh, Harris... Well, darling, you came to right place, we'll take great care of you." She reassured.


	5. Return

Marianne dumped yet another bucket of cold water into the bathtub

Marianne dumped yet another bucket of cold water into the bathtub. Estella told them to clean the blood off my body and my nightdress, and then bring me downstairs. I stared blankly at the orangey water as Marianne splashed more water over me.

"Your awfully quiet, dear. Why so?" Marianne asked.

"I've had a rough day." I said in a sore monotone.

"Where are you from?"

"Biloxi."

"I'm from Baton Rouge."

"Where's Kristina from?"

"She claim's she's from Madrid, but we all know she's from Florida." Marianne said with a smile. She handed me a bar of soap and left. I lathered and scrubbed hard. The bar cracked and gave way. I looked down at the soap fragments. I sighed. I leaned back in the bathtub and closed my eyes. A vivid picture filled my mind. A young girl couldn't have been older than me, stumbled into the house. She was screaming and crying and calling for me. I saw the eyes of a girl I swear I knew. The foggy memory of Joy Gordon filled my mind. I whipped myself out of the tub and put on my slightly bloodied dress and bolted from the room. I looked down the stairwell. Nothing. Quiet heaving racked from my body. Then I heard loud, frantic knocking. Estella burst down the hallway and answered the door. The horrified Joy faltered in and began to scream my name. I looked into her hard, black eyes, and she returned the glance. I ran down the stairs and wrapped my arms around her.

"Oh my goodness, Joy. How did you find me here? How did you know I left?" I said.

"I'll tell you later. I just can't believe the tracker didn't kill you." Joy said. _Tracker?_ I thought. We pulled apart.

" I see that you ladies know each other. I'll let you two talk for a while, then I want you both in the kitchen right after to do some more explaining on how thinks work around here." Estella reveled. We nodded and walked into the sitting room just aft of the foyer.

"How did you find me, Joy?" I asked.

"You don't know what I am? I thought the clue I gave you gave me away completely." She said. She leaned in closer and whispered in my ear.

"I'm a vampire." _Now it all makes sense_, I thought.

"Please explain more." I said.

"Well, I was born in a small town near Nashville, Tennessee, in 1898. I grew up there until my parents moved, and I met a very sweet man named Clyde. We eventually fell in love, and he told me what he was and he offered me if I wanted to join him. My parents never approved of him, so I took this opportunity as a life long journey with the man that I love, so I let him change me. My parents found out that I was leaving, and locked me in my bedroom. I got so irritated that I snuck into my baby sister's room, and killed her. That may sound horrible, but my parent's loved her way more than they loved me, spoiling her, and telling her not to turn out like her big sister. My parents tortured me with her, saying that I never acted like that when I was a baby. So when I was done with her, I burned the body, to make sure she didn't come back as one. I sat in the room, and when my parents walked in, I gave them a smile, and leapt from the window. My parents put out a statewide search for me, and when they found me, they interred at the asylum. After I found out that you left, I made 'arrangements' with Clyde to get me out of there, and I used my gift to find you here." Joy explained.

"What's a gift?" I asked dumbfoundedly. Joy laughed.

"A gift is whatever aspect of your human life that you brought over to the vampire side. Sometimes it's compassion or vanity, or it could be a power, like mind reading or a shield. It varies." She explained.

"What's your gift?" I questioned.

"My gift is tracking people. I follow their scent and memories."

"Does this mean I have a gift, too?"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Did you have a premonition before I came here?" she asked. I nodded.

"Was it hazy or clear?"

"Very clear."

"Then you have a gift. You can see the future. But, don't think everything that you see will come true, because the future is not set in stone. Clyde has the same gift as you, so I'll let him train you on this." Joy said. "Now, Alice, tell me how you were changed. If you can't remember, just tell what you can gather."

" It's a little fuzzy, but I remember Harris telling me that he needed to change me to save me from this vampire who wanted my blood. So he did so. And when I woke up, I killed Cecil. I found a letter in my pocket from Harris telling me to come here." I recalled.

"I think we are done here, let's go into the kitchen and see what Estella wants." Joy said. She took my hand and we walked into the kitchen together. Estella greeted us with a big hug. She ushered us to the large dining table. Estella took my hand.

"Now, Alice. I have much to explain to you. This place is for vampires with nowhere else to go. You can leave here whenever you think you are ready. I'll tell you about our kind. There are a few things that all vampires have in common. We are all pale. Our senses are much sharper. We can't eat food or sleep. We all are unnaturally beautiful, fast and strong. The agility and strength you'll need to perfect. We also follow laws. I'll give you the basic laws. First, you need to feed on a living being. Second, you may not go out in the sun, it will expose us and the head of our kind will destroy you. Third, you may tell no one who you are; this has the same consequence as going out in the sun. Now, Alice dear, do you understand these basic guidelines?" Estella revealed. I nodded.

"Great, now of you have any other questions, or if you need anything, just come into my quarters and I'll glad to help you." She reassured me. She got up and sauntered out of the room. Joy and I sat in the barron kitchen, cloaked in stillness.

"Joy, will you stay with me until I can leave?"

"Of course I will. I'll never back down on a friend."

"Thank you." I said. I wrapped her into a hug. This will get some getting used to.


End file.
